


Midnight Feast

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-23
Updated: 2016-08-23
Packaged: 2018-08-10 13:45:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7847371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alex finds Anne in the kitchen at midnight.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Midnight Feast

Alex woke up to an empty bed and frowned in concern. She was sure that Anne had been there when she’d fallen asleep. She distinctly remembered having her arms around the other woman. The bedsheets where Anne had been were damp with sweat and smelled strange. It took a moment for Alex to place the scent, but she finally remembered what magic smelled like. And then she saw the tear in the sheet.

“Anne?” she called, padding barefoot down the marble tiled hallway that led from the bedrooms. The tiles were quite chilly, but she was already awake anyway from worry over Anne. Her heart was racing from fear, worry gnawing her that maybe her girlfriend had been taken again. The baroness had locked one of them away before, she might do it again. 

Alex felt a rush of relief when she heard sniffling coming from the direction of the kitchen. She ran through the doorway and collapsed against the counter in relief at the sight of the girl sitting there. 

“Anne,” she whispered, straightening up and walking towards her. She wrapped her arms around the sniffling girl and rested her cheek on her hair. “You’re okay.”

“Physically, yes,” said Anne. She sighed. “I had a nightmare. I woke up and came here because I was hungry.” Alex spotted the empty coffee mug, and now she could smell the strong odour of coffee in the air. But she wouldn’t blame her girlfriend for trying to cope. She should know, she’d emptied half of the wine cellar while Anne had been missing. 

“Want me to join you?” asked Alex.

“Yes,” said Anne. “I can’t sleep so I may as well stuff my face with food, right?”

“Isn’t it usually ice cream, though?” asked Alex, looking at the platter of fudgy chocolate cookies on the counter.

“It doesn’t go as well with coffee. Anyway, who is the domestic goddess in this place?” asked Anne. “The baroness doesn’t seem like the type to cook. Specifically, not a Nigella recipe.”

“How do you-“

“This isn’t the first time I’ve been up all night, Alex,” said Anne. Alex had noticed the dark circles under Anne’s eyes, but she hadn’t said anything about it.

“Louisa cooked them,” said Alex. “She’s had a lot of spare time lately, so she’s been cooking a lot.”

“They’re surprisingly good,” said Anne, picking up another cookie and taking a bite out of it. Alex moved around the counter to look at her girlfriend, wanting to see how she looked. She looked terrible, her face flushed from crying and her eyes bloodshot from both crying and lack of sleep.

“Have you considered sleeping pills?” asked Alex. She knew that Anne had tried various teas and other natural remedies, but maybe it was time to try the hard stuff.

“One of the side-effects is paralysis,” said Anne, picking her coffee mug up. “If I do wake up, I don’t want to be paralysed. Just look at what I did to the sheets.”

“No, that was just for the animal-grade sleeping pills that James took,” said Alex. “The real ones just send you to sleep.”

“I’d just get to the nightmares faster,” said Anne. She closed her eyes. “I’m exhausted but I can’t sleep.”

“What about Linda?” asked Alex. “She removed James’ memories of what Katja did to him, and he only got them back when Katja returned and tried to access the link.”

“Do you think that it will work?” asked Anne. “I can’t forget Pandoria because the druids need me to remember everything there.”

“So then remove those memories and put them somewhere else, I just… I need you to be able to sleep,” said Alex. “Please, Anne. I’ll do anything. Just to see you calm and happy again.”

“It would be nice to sleep through the night and wake up next to you in the traditional sense,” said Anne. “Instead of just waking up screaming. I don’t know how you don’t remember it, you woke up and tried to calm me.”

“I don’t remember that,” said Alex.

“Well, you did. You woke up and kissed me and put your arms around me and you kept telling me that it was okay. And that you loved me. I calmed down after a while and you went back to sleep, but I couldn’t. So I got up and came out here,” said Anne.

“Please try the sleeping pills,” said Alex. “If they just give you nightmares then we’ll try something else. I think that the druids have some concoctions to ensure a dreamless sleep.”

“Do you have any now?” asked Anne. “I’m really tired.” She tried to put her mug down and it clattered on the counter top. She trembled. “I’m all jittery and wired up from the caffeine. Even if I could sleep, I’d wake up again to throw up.”

“Yes,” said Alex. “Come on, there are some in my ensuite.” Anne got up and followed her out of the kitchen, keeping close to her. Her eyes were closed and she stumbled every few steps, but Alex kept her steady and on the right path. And then Alex picked Anne up and carried her in her arms for the last few metres to her bedroom. Alex noticed that Anne was asleep by the time she got to her bedroom, so she gently laid her on the bed and tiptoed to the ensuite to get the sleeping pills just in case. Then, she turned her light out and climbed into bed with Anne, wrapping her arms around her. Maybe she was so exhausted that she’d finally have a dreamless sleep.


End file.
